f 


GENERAL  SURVEY 

OF  TIIE 

MISSIONS  OF  THE  ^AMERICAN  BOARD  OF  COM¬ 
MISSIONERS  FOR  FOREIGN  MISSIONS. 

- 6 - 

PRESENTED  AT  THE  ANNUAL  MEETING  AT  BROOKLYN,  OCT.  4,  1870. 

— « — 

A  recent  letter  from  Central  Turkey  contains  the  following  state¬ 
ment,  by  Hagop  Effendi,  the  Head  of  the  Protestant  Civil  Com¬ 
munity  in  the  Turkish  Empire  :  — 

« I  have  travelled  a  great  deal  among  the  Protestants  of  Syria 
and  Turkey,  and  the  strongest  impression  I  have  does  not  arise  from 
the  schools,  books,  or  churches,  as  pledges  that  Protestanism  is  to 
be  a  success  in  Turkey,  but  from  the  prodigious  extent  with  which 
the  country  at  large  is  leavened  by  Protestant  truth.  The  giandest 
results  of  your  labors  are  not  at  all  apparent. 

Similar  testimony  is  given  by  Sir  Bartle  Frere,  formeily  Goveinoi 
of  Bombay,  in  regard  to  the  progress  of  the  gospel  in  India :  — 

“  Christianity  is' how  acting  in  different  ways,  directly  and  indi¬ 
rectly,  visibly  and  invisibly,  as  a  solvent  of  those  old  bands  which 
have  for  ages  kept  together  society  and  civilization  in  India. 
The  revolution  has  hitherto  been  not  only  peaceful,  but  silent,  and 
perhaps  to  the  mass  of  mankind,  little  perceptible.  Thoughtful 
men  are  finding  out  that  the  Vedas  contain  no  knowledge  of  God  ; 
that  idolatry  is  a  .harden  at  once  gross  and  debasing  ;  while  the 
Bible,  now  translated  into  all  the  principal  languages  of  the  coun¬ 
try,  is  beginning  to  be  regarded  with  reverence,  and  recognized  in 
its  true  relations  to  the  moral  and  social  progress  of  a  people.” 

These  facts,  so  cheering  to  the  heart  of  the  missionary  in  the 
field,  no  figures  can  measure.  They  belong  to  the  period  of  prep¬ 
aration.  So  was  it  for  years  in  the  early  history  of  the  Sandwich 
Islands’  mission ;  but  the  pentecostal  season  came  at  last,  when  over 
ten  thousand  converts  were  added  to  the  churches  in  a  single  year, 
and  one  missionary  baptized  seventeen  hundred  in  a  single  day.  A 
similar  season  is  now  enjoyed  in  the  Island  of  Madagascar,  and  on  a 
smaller  scale  in  some  of  the  islands  of  our  Micronesia  mission.  . 
While  our  work  the  past  year  has  been  largely  one  of  preparation, 


2 


the  more  so  because  of  the  comparative  large  number  of  young  mis¬ 
sionaries  not  yet  familiar  with  the  languages  they  are  to  use,  the  results 
1  epoi  ted  aie  in  several  important  respects  more  encouraging  than  for 
many  yeais,  perhaps  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  than  ever  before. 

This  encouragement  is  found  mainly  in  three  directions  :  in  the 
development  and  training  of  an  efficient  native  ministry;  in  the 
success  which  has  attended  efforts  to  reach  the  women  in  the  differ¬ 
ent  mission  fields  ;  and  in  the  healthful  growth  of  the  native  churches 
in  numbers,  in  independence,  and  in  a  sense  of  responsibility  for  the 
progress  of  the  gospel. 

THE  NATIVE  MINISTRY. 

The  whole  number  of  native  laborers  in  connection  with  the  dif¬ 
ferent  missions  the  past  year  was  1,005,  an  increase  of  over  a  hun¬ 
dred  upon  the  previous  year.  Of  these,  119  are  pastors,  and  327 
preachers  ;  the  remainder  teachers,  colporters,  and  Bible  readers  ; 
but  all  educated  in  our  various  schools  and  seminaries,  and  in 
point  of  education  and  character,  holding  about  the  same  relative 
position  to  the  people  among  whom  they  labor,  that  similar  classes 
do  at  home.  In  the  less  enlightened  communities  their  relative 
position  is  much  higher.  The  standard  is  constantly  advanced  with 
the  progress  of  education  among  the  people.  At  Harpoot,  in  East¬ 
ern  Turkey,  an  additional  year  has  been  added  to  the  course  in  the 
seminary,  making  it  equal  to  five  years  in  advance  of  the  education  to 
be  had  in  the  common  schools.  At  Marash,  in  Central  Turkey,  it  is 
proposed  to  include  Hebrew  and  Greek  in  the  regular  course,  and 
an  order  for  twelve  copies  of  Shedd’s  “  Homiletics  ”  has  just  been 
filled,  for  the  advantage  of  the  students  acquainted  with  the  Eng¬ 
lish  language.  The  seminary  at  Marsovan  has  just  ordered  fifteen 
copies  each  of  Murphy’s  Commentary  on  Genesis,  and  Barnes’  on 
Acts,  Romans,  and  the  Revelation.  Some  of  the  graduates  of  the 
seminaries  in  India  and  Ceylon,  as  well  as  in  Western  Asia,  have  a 
high  reputation  among  the  missionaries,  as  scholars  and  thinkers, 
and  are  often  called  to  aid  in  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures, 
and  in  other  literary  labors ;  while  many  are  highly  esteemed  as 
orators,  and  as  earnest,  effective  preachers  of  the  gospel. 

Forty-five  young  men  completed  their  theological  studies  the  past 
year  ;  seven  at  Wailuku  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  nine  in  the  Madura 
mission,  seven  in  Ceylon,  and  twenty-two  at  Harjioot.  The  number 
now  in  mission  training-schools  and  seminaries,  looking  forward  to 
the  work  of  the  ministry,  is  nearly  if  not  quite  equal  to  that  in 
the  seminaries  belonging  to  the  constituency  of  the  Board.  The  ob¬ 
ject  in  these  institutions  is,  primarily,  to  raise  up  able  expounders  of 
Bible  truth,  and  faithful  pastors.  Studies  in  the  physical  and  moral 


r 


3 

sciences  are  pursued  simply  as  a  means  of  discipline,  and  are  made 
strictly  subordinate.  In  some  instances,  where  the  native  languages 
are  particularly  deficient  in  a  Christian  literature,  the  English  lan¬ 
guage  is  taught,  in  order  to  open  up  to  the  students  the  stores  of 
learning  it  contains  ;  but  instruction  is  given,  and  men  are  trained 
to  work,  in  the  native  tongues. 

During  the  past  year  a  theological  seminary  of  great  promise 
was  begun  in  the  Syria  mission,  and  a  theological  class  was  formed 
at  Ahmednuggur,  in  the  Mahratta  field,  while  existing  institutions 
were  thoroughly  reorganized  in  the  Zulu,  Ceylon,  Madura,  Persian, 
and  Foochow  missions.  Arrangements  are  in  progress  to  secure  the 
establishment,  as  widely  as  possible,  of  theological  institutes  for  the 
further  training  of  native  pastors  and  preachers,  to  raise  their  stand¬ 
ard  of  ministerial  education,  and  to  awaken  among  them  a  health¬ 
ful  ambition  to  seek  a  better  culture  for  themselves  and  their  people. 
The  missions  in  India  have  cooperated  with  the  Christian  Vernacular 
Education  Society  in  the  support  of  normal  schools  for  the  better 
training  of  teachers,  while  in  Eastern  Turkey  and  in  Persia,  normal 
schools  have  just  been  established  by  our  missionaries.  Besides  the 
common  schools  in  charge  of  Christian  teachers,  and  the  mission 
seminaries,  station  schools  for  both  sexes  have  been  established  in 
the  Mahratta  and  Madura  missions,  and  station  classes  in  Western 
and  Eastern  Turkey,  under  the  immediate  care  of  the  missionaries. 
The  opportunity  is  thus  given  to  select,  after  a  personal  acquaint¬ 
ance,  the  more  promising  pupils  for  the  higher  institutions,  and  to 
train  up  helpers  for  local  work. 

The  students  in  all  these  higher  institutions  are  employed,  during 
the  four  or  five  months  of  vacation,  in  mission  work,  and  thus  thor¬ 
oughly  tested.  The  practical  experience  thus  acquired  is  of  im¬ 
mense  value  to  the  young  men,  besides  its  service  to  the  cause  ; 
and  opportunity  is  given  to  drop  the  unfaithful  or  the  incompe¬ 
tent. 

In  the  older  fields,  much  of  the  time  of  missionaries  must  be 
given  to  this  work  of  developing  a  native  agency,  to  aiding  and 
counseling  pastors,  and  to  the  proper  superintendence  of  the  preach¬ 
ers  engaged  in  evangelistic  labors  in  the  opening  fields.  The  posi¬ 
tion  is  a  somewhat  delicate  one,  and  the  object  and  motives  of  the 
missionary  are  sometimes  liable  to  misapprehension,  and  individuals 
jealous  for  their  own  opinions,  and  for  the  rights  of  the  churches, 
will  at  times  mistake  the  legitimate  influence  of  a  missionary  for 
undue  authority ;  but,  as  a  whole,  there  has  been  a  large  measure  of 
mutual  confidence,  and  as  little  friction  as  could  well  have  been  ex¬ 
pected.  Some  time  must  be  allowed  to  educate  men  who  have  all 
their  lives  been  subject  to  the  bondage  of  political  and  priestly 


4 


power,  to  the  wise  conduct  of  their  own  ecclesiastical  affairs.  The 
results,  however,  thus  far,  have  exceeded  the  most  sanguine  hopes. 
The  Evangelical  Association  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  the  Evangelical 
Unions  in  the  Armenian  missions,  in  India  and  Ceylon,  have  shown 
a  practical  good  sense,  and  an  ability  that  would  do  honor  to  older 
bodies  in  this  country,  and  amply  justify  the  missionaries  in  passing 
over  to  them,  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment,  the  entire  responsi¬ 
bility  for  what  may  be  termed  the  home  work  of  the  native  churches. 
The  presence  of  the  missionary  will  for  a  time  be  required,  not  for 
the  exercise  of  authority,  but  of  love  and  wise  counsel,  for  the  sake 
of  that  practical  wisdom  that  becomes  a  part  of  the  common  sense 
of  those  reared  amid  free  Christian  institutions. 

A  native  agency,  well  educated  and  guided  by  wise  counsels,  is 
our  great  reliance,  next  to  the  Spirit  of  God,  for  the  success  of  the 
mission  work. 


WORK  AMONG  THE  WOMEN. 

The  opportunities  for  Christian  wrork  among  the  women  in  the 
mission  fields  are  multiplying  on  every  hand.  The  gospel  marks 
the  last  and  crowning  stage  of  the  missionary  enterprise,  with  all 
its  beneficent  influences  in  the  homes  of  a  people.  The  Christian 
family,  the  Christian  home,  the  social  and  moral  elevation  of  woman, 
illustrated  in  the  family  and  home  of  our  missionaries,  have  been, 
and  still  constitute  a  prime  agency  in  the  great  change  now  in  prog¬ 
ress,  and  preeminently  justify  the  policy  of  the  American  Board  in 
its  decided  preference  for  married  missionaries.  Indeed,  some  of 
the  late  calls  for  missionaries  have  been  not  only  for  married  men, 
but  for  men  with  a  family  of  children. 

One  of  our  wisest  missionaries  remarks :  “  One  example  of  Chris¬ 
tianity,  lifting  the  wife  and  mother  to  her  place,  is  worth  more  than 
thousands  of  sermons  in  its  influence  on  both  sexes.  One  look  at  the 
little  child  on  its  parent’s  knee,  learning  its  first  lesson  in  letters  or 
Christian  knowledge,  is  worth  scores  of  exhortations  on  parental  duty.” 

It  has  been  the  practice  of  the  Board  from  the  first,  to  send  out 
single  ladies  wherever  they  could  be  employed  to  advantage.  It 
would  not  be  easy  to  overestimate  the  results  of  Miss  Ogden’s  forty 
years’  service  in  behalf  of  her  sex  in  the  Hawaiian  Islands,  or  Miss 
Farrar’s  thirty-five  in  India  ;  or  of  labors  by  Misses  Fiske  and  Rice 
among  the  Nestorians.  Eight  years  after  Miss  Farrar  had  ceased 
from  her  labors  in  Bombay,  a  native  woman  on  her  death-bed  made 
her  first  confession  of  Christ,  —  the  Holy  Spirit,  after  that  long 
interval,  bringing  home  to  her  heart  the  faithful  instructions  of  her 
missionary  teacher. 

Within  the  last  few  years,  the  way  has  been  opened  for  direct 


5 


missionary  labor  in  behalf  of  women,  as  never  before,  and  the  num¬ 
ber  of  single  ladies  in  the  field  has  been  increased,  till  they  now 
number  over  forty.  Five  more  are  to  leave  for  Western  Asia  the 
present  month,  and  still  the  calls  for  such  laborers  will  not  be  sup¬ 
plied. 

The  twenty  boarding-schools  for  girls,  all  but  two  in  charge  of 
single  ladies  assisted  by  native  teachers,  contain  over  six  hundred  pu¬ 
pils.  These  girls  are  there  brought  under  the  most  favorable  influ¬ 
ences  to  become  fitted,  as  educated  Christian  women,  to  occupy  im¬ 
portant  positions,  and  to  illustrate  the  spirit  and  power  of  the  gospel. 
During  their  vacations,  many  of  these  girls  make  themselves  very 
useful  in  their  own  homes.  One  of  the  youngest  girls  in  the  Harpoot 
Seminary,  during  the  last  winter  vacation,  taught  forty-two  women 
in  her  native  village  to  read.  The  first  reading  book  in  that  field 
is  an  introduction  to  the  Scriptures.  Did  the  Sabbath-school  at 
Portsmouth,  Ohio,  in  giving  the  thirty  dollars  for  the  support  of  this 
girl,  dream  of  the  light  they  were  setting  up  far  away  among  the 
mountains  of  Eastern  Turkey?  Yet  thousands  of  women  are  thus 
made  acquainted  with  the  way  of  life,  and  the  work  of  the  Christian 
teacher  from  this  land,  permitted  to  train  up  such  girls,  and  to  set 
such  influences  in  motion,  is  one  that  angels  might  covet. 

While  the  wisest  economy  of  missionary  funds  and  labor  would 
limit  the  work  of  our  female  missionaries  largely  to  the  training  of 
native  laborers,  much  is  now  done  by  them,  both  the  single  and  mar¬ 
ried,  in  visiting  from  house  to  house,  in  holding  meetings  for  prayer 
and  instruction,  and  in  the  superintendence  of  native  Bible-women. 
Mrs.  Harding  finds  ready-access  to  the  Zenan  as  in  Bombay ;  Mrs. 
Hartwell  and  others,  in  China,  are  welcomed  to  many  homes  ;  Miss 
Townsend,  in  Ceylon,  visits  from  village  to  village  in  company  with  a 
native  pastor.  Keports  of  such  labor  have  appeared  from  time  to 
time  in  the  “  Missionary  Herald,”  and  in  the  Quarterly  of  the  Woman’s 
Board  of  Missions,  and  need  not  be  repeated.  The  opening  for 
such  labor  abroad,  and  the  awakened  interest  among  the  women  of 
our  churches,  we  would  gratefully  recognize  as  of  the  Lord,  and  for 
our  encouragement  in  his  work. 


THE  NATIVE  CHURCHES. 

We  notice  with  gratitude  the  addition  during  the  year,  of  1,580 
members  to  the  churches  on  profession  of  faith ;  the  number  of  na¬ 
tive  pastors  enlarged  from  106  to  119 ;  and  the  special  divine  bless¬ 
ing  at  Bitlis,  Marash,  and  Marsovan  in  the  Armenian  missions,  at 
Degala  in  the  mission  to  Persia,  and  at  two  of  the  islands  in  Micro¬ 
nesia  ;  in  the  larger  accessions  than  heretofore  to  the  churches  in  the 
Syria  and  China  missions  ;  and  generally,  in  the  wide-spread  interest 


6 


that  has  resulted  in  additions  to  a  very  large  majority  of  the  native 
churches  throughout  the  entire  field,  indicative  of  a  healthful  spirit¬ 
ual  growth.  The  whole  number  of  churches  reported  is  238  ;  of 
members  24,142. 

Of  not  less  moment  to  the  progress  of  the  mission  work  has 
been  the  general  advance  all  along  the  line,  in  the  direction  of 
independence  and  self-support.  The  sixty-nine  churches  in  the 
Armenian  missions  have  raised  their  contributions  for  Christian  ob¬ 
jects  over  twenty-five  per  cent,  — from  fifteen  to  nineteen  thousand 
dollars.  Over  a  third  of  these  churches  are  self-supporting,  and  all 
bear  a  part  of  their  own  expenses.  The  Harpoot  Evangelical  Union 
has  just  educated  four  young  men  at  our  seminary,  and  now  sends 
them  out  to  labor  for  the  Koordish  speaking  Armenians,  amid  the 
mountains  to  the  eastward.  In  the  Syria  mission  a  great  advance 
has  been  made,  the  Protestant  community  at  Beirut  alone  contrib¬ 
uting  fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  money,  and  cooperating  vigor¬ 
ously  in  Sabbath-school  and  other  evangelical  work  in  outlying 
districts.  An  advance  of  full  forty  per  cent,  upon  last  years  conti i- 
butions  has  been  made  by  the  native  churches  in  the  Madina  and 
Ceylon  missions,  with  great  moral  benefit  in  awakening  just  views 
of  personal  responsibility  for  the  progress  of  the  gospel.  In  the 
Foochow  and  Zulu  missions,  a  beginning  in  the  right  direction  has 
been  made  ;  and  in  the  latter,  especially,  the  woi'k  of  reconstruction 
is  in  progress,  with  the  intent  to  relieve  the  missionaries  of  all  pas¬ 
toral  care,  and  to  develop  the  independence  of  the  native  churches. 
The  fifty-eight  Hawaiian  churches  support  their  own  ministry,  build 
their  own  houses  of  worship,  sustain  mission  labor  among  the  Chi¬ 
nese  immigrants,  and  contribute  to  our  work  in  Micionesia  thiee 
thousand  dollars  more  than  they  draw  from  our  treasury  for  ceitain 
educational  objects.  The  native  churches  in  Micronesia  have  never 
been  at  any  charge  upon  us  beyond  the  salaries  of  the  missionaries. 
They  erect  their  own  school  and  church  buildings,  and  suppoit  theii 
own  teachers.  The  amount  expended  on  churches  alone,  the  past 
five  years,  is  estimated  at  over  two  thousand  dollars.  The  mission¬ 
ary  leads  the  way  with  his  axe  on  his  shoulder,  and  the  people  follow 
him,  to  cut  the  coral  rock  on  the  shore  or  the  timber  in  the  foiests, 
and  the  work  is  soon  done. 

Strangely  enough  it  has  been  left  to  these,  among  the  humblest 
and  most  degraded  of  the  tribes  of  the  children  of  men,  to  revive 
in  its  simplicity  the  spirit  of  the  apostolic  churches,  and  by  the  sacii- 
fices  they  make,  and  the  unselfish  devotion  to  Christ  they  exhibit, 
to  rebuke  the  want  of  faith  among  the  more  highly  favored  races. 

The  entire  amount  contributed  by  the  native  Christian  commu¬ 
nities,  not  including  much  free  labor  in  school  and  church  building^ 


is  about  sixty  thousand  dollars  in  gold,  or  one  sixth  as  much  as  is 
contributed  by  all  the  churches  acting  through  the  American  Board. 

Such,  in  brief,  are  some  of  the  more  striking  features  of  the  work 
in  the  foreign  field,  in  charge  of  a  little  company  of  143  ordained 
missionaries,  11  lay  assistants,  and  200  Christian  women  from  this 
country.  What  are  they  among  the  multitudes  dependent  upon 
them  for  the  knowledge  of  the  way  of  life  —  multitudes  numbering 
more  millions  than  there  are  ordained  missionaries  !  Yet  how  stu¬ 
pendous  are  the  results  already  reached,  how  illustrative  of  the 
Divine  blessing  on  our  labors !  The  prospect  was  never  more  cheer¬ 
ing,  had  we  but  the  fit  men  to  follow  up  the  advantages  gained. 
Ten  men  are  needed  at  once  in  as  many  different  fields  in  theologi¬ 
cal  schools,  and  three  times  as  many  more  could  find  instant  desig¬ 
nation,  to  strengthen  the  hands  of  over-taxed  brethren  at  old 
stations,  and  to  enter  upon  new  and  inviting  fields,  such  as  belong 
to  the  healthful  growth  of  the  work. 

It  is  true  there  are  many  noble  men  among  the  native  pastors  and 
preachers,  —  men  who  are  the  joy  and  the  crown  of  the  missionary 
fathers,  faithful  and  cordial  co-laborers  unto  the  kingdom  of  God  ; 
but  the  care  of  the  native  churches,  and  the  beginnings  of  Christian 
communities,  absorb  many  of  them,  and  nearly  all  need  for  a  time 
the  counsel  and  encouragement  of  the  missionary,  to  guard  against 
errors  in  doctrine  and  practice,  while  the  foundations  are  laid  of 
permanent  religious  institutions.  The  character  of  the  missionary’s 
work  has  greatly  changed  in  the  progress  of  the  enterprise.  But  it 
is  none  the  less  necessary,  and  demands  ability  of  the  first  order. 
It  is  now  largely  given  to  the  training  of  a  native  agency,  its  proper 
direction  and  superintendence,  and  the  production  of  a  Christian 
literature. 

It  is  with  deep  regret  that  the  Prudential  Committee  are  obliged 
to  report  that  only  five  new  ordained  missionaries  have  been  sent 
abroad  the  past  year,  —  not  enough  to  take  the  places  of  those  prov¬ 
identially  removed.  The  increase  of  two  in  the  aggregate  of  labor¬ 
ers  from  this  country  is  to  be  credited  to  the  unmarried  ladies. 
Three  missionaries,  Messrs.  Abbott,  of  the  Mahratta  mission,  Quick, 
of  Ceylon,  and  White,  of  Madura,  have  been  released  from  their 
connection  with  the  Board,  as  the  health  of  their  families  did  not 
permit  them  to  return;  and  two  have  been  called  up  higher,  the 
venerable  Dr.  Perkins,  in  the  fullness  of  years,  a  name  forever  to  be 
associated  with  the  wonderful  triumphs  of  grace  among  his  loved 
Nestorians,  and  Mr.  Ball,  who  had  but  recently  returned,  in  enfeebled 
health,  from  Western  Turkey.  The  women  of  Eastern  Turkey  have 
lost  two  sisters  devoted  to  their  spiritual  welfare,  and  the  mission 
circle  two  of  its  most  cherished  members,  in  Mrs.  Parmelee,  of  Erz- 
room,  and  Miss  Warfield,  of  Harpoot. 


8 


The  intelligence  of  opposition  to  all  foreigners  in  China,  and  of 
the  frightful  scenes  recently  enacted  at  Tientsin,  may  well  enlist  our 
liveliest  sympathies  and  prayers  in  behalf  of  our  loved  missionaries 
and  native  Christians  in  that  country,  that  their  lives  may  be  spared, 
and  their  opportunities  of  Christian  labor  not  hindered,  but  rather 
enlarged. 

The  loss  of  the  Morning  Star  is  now  supplied  in  part  by  a  char¬ 
tered  vessel.  It  is  the  intention  to  provide  a  new  ship  for  the  com¬ 
ing  year. 

Other  changes  in  the  foreign  field,  to  take  effect  at  the  close  of 
the  year  under  review,  will  be  referred  to  elsewhere. 

RESULTS  AMONG  THE  NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 

The  efforts  of  the  Board  in  behalf  of  the  aborigines  of  this  coun- 
try,  are  apparently  as  hopeful  as  they  have  ever  been.  Among  the 
Dakotas , —  more  than  thirty  thousand  in  number,  —  a  “  great  door  and 
effectual  ”  seems  to  be  opening.  There  is  more  willingness  to  re¬ 
ceive  instruction,  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  the  native 
agency  is  becoming  more  and  more  effective.  Hence  the  Commit¬ 
tee  have  decided  to  make  larger  appropriations  for  this  field  than 
they  ever  made  before. 

An  interesting  experiment  is  in  progress  on  the  head  waters  of 
the  Big  Sioux  River,  commenced  by  twenty  families  from  the  San¬ 
tee  Agency,  which  have  since  increased  to  fifty.  Their  leading- 
object  is  to  change  their  manner  of  life.  In  other  words,  they  wish 
to  put  off  the  Indian,  and  put  on  the  white  man.  Without  capital, 
“  with  scarcely  a  tool,”  with  little  or  no  experience  in  husbandry, 
they  have  gone  forth  to  earn  a  living  by  tilling  the  soil.  They  are 
filing  their  papers  in  the  land  office,  preparatory  to  the  acquisition 
of  homesteads  which  they  can  call  their  own,  though  required  to 
pay  $14  as  preliminary  thereto,  and  to  renounce  all  their  annuities, 
which  are  worth  to  every  family  at  least  $1,000,  and  to  some  $3,000 
or  $4,000. 

Like  the  first  settlers  of  New  England,  they  have  taken  the  church 
with  them,  and  already  they  are  able  to  report  ninety  communicants. 
The  Committee  cannot  but  admire  the  moral  courage,  and  the  prac¬ 
tical  wisdom,  which  these  children  of  the  prairies  are  exhibiting. 

As  the  missionaries  to  the  Senecas  have  withdrawn  from  the  care 
of  the  Board,  in  order  to  a  transfer  of  their  relation  to  the  mission¬ 
ary  agency  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Committee  deem  it 
proper  to  mention  some  of  the  changes  which  the  gospel  has 
wrought  among  these  Indians. 

1.  In  1826,  —  when  this  work  was  received  from  the  United 
Foreign  Missionary  Society,  —  their  number  (including  a  few  other 


r 

9 

Iroquois)  was  about  twenty-five  hundred.  At  the  present  time, 
directly  in  the  face  of  all  the  adverse  influences,  physical  and  moral, 
which  have  operated  against  them,  they  show  an  increase  of  thirty- 
five  per  cent  ;  whereas,  without  the  gospel,  a  small  remnant  only 
would  have  been  left. 

2.  In  1826,  they  lived  in  poor,  unfurnished  wigwams,  without 
cooking  utensils,  except  a  kettle  and  such  vessels  as  could  he 
made  of  bark.  Now  the  poorest  shanties  are  made  of  boards; 
and  most  have  comfortable  dwellings,  comparatively,  with  barns 
and  other  outhouses,  with  furniture  and  cooking  utensils,  like  those 
of  the  agricultural  community  around  them.  And  they  have  like¬ 
wise  every  implement  possessed  by  white  farmers,  —  excepting 
perhaps  a  few  of  the  more  recent  labor-saving  inventions,  but  not 
excepting  mowers,  reapers,  threshing-machines,  wood-mills,  etc.  And 
it  is  said  that  an  old-fashioned  Indian  dress,  whether  for  males  or 
females,  cannot  be  found  on  Cattaraugus  Reservation,  unless  it  may 
have  been  preserved  as  a  relic  of  by-gone  days. 

3.  In  1826,  drunkenness  was  exceedingly  prevalent ;  and  it  had 
done  much  to  diminish  the  population.  Now  it  is  the  exception,  not 
the  rule.  In  fact,  it  may  be  pronounced  as  uncommon  now  as  it 
was  common  then. 

4.  In  1826,  there  were  two  boarding-schools  sustained  by  mission¬ 
ary  funds ;  and  a  third  was  supported  (as  it  still  is)  by  the  Quak¬ 
ers.  Now  there  are  ten  district  schools  at  Cattaraugus, — one  of 
them  an  orphan  asylum,  with  one  hundred  pupils, —  and  six  or 
seven  at  Alleghany ;  so  that  every  neighborhood  is  supplied  with 
the  means  of  education.  More  than  thirty  Indian  teachers  have 
been  raised  up  to  assist  in  the  work  of  instruction. 

5.  In  1826,  only  ten  Senecas  had  professed  their  faith  in  the  Sav¬ 
iour  ;  and  most  of  the  tribe  were  simply  pagans.  Since  that  time 
nearly  six  hundred  have  made  the  same  profession,  in  connection 
with  the  labors  of  our  missionaries ;  and  many,  it  is  believed,  have 
attained  to  eternal  life,  without  passing  through  the  gateway  of  the 
visible  church. 

While,  therefore,  missionary  efforts  among  these  Indians,  as 
among  the  aborigines  of  this  country  always  and  everywhere,  have 
encountered  the  most  formidable  difficulties,  they  have  not  been  in 
vain  in  the  Lord. 


10 


GENERAL  SUMMARY. 


Missions. 


Number  of  Missions . 38 

“  “  Stations . 95 

“  “  Out-stations . 537 


.  143 

8 
3 

200 

.  -  354 

119 
.  327 

435 
.  214 

- 1,095 


Whole  number  of  laborers  connected  with  the  Missions  .  .  .  - 1,449 

The  Press. 

Pages  printed,  as  far  as  reported .  19,728,095 

The  Churches. 

Number  of  Churches  (including  all  at  the  Hawaiian  Islands)  .  .  .  238 

“  Church  Members  “  “  “  “  so  far  as  reported  24,142 

Added  during  the  year  (so  far  as  reported) . 3,580 

Educational  Department. 

Number  of  Training  and  Theological  Schools .  16 

“  “  Boarding  Schools  for  Girls . 20 

“  “  Common  Schools  (omitting  those  at  Hawaiian  Islands)  .  .  496 

“  “  Pupils  in  Common  Schools  (omitting  those  at  Hawaiian  Islands)  .  13,643 

“  “  “  in  Training  and  Theological  Schools  ....  368 

“  “  “  in  Boarding  Schools  for  Girls . 651 

Other  adults  under  instruction . 1,115 


Whole  number  of  Pupils . 15,777 


Laborers  Employed. 

Number  of  Ordained  Missionaries  (three  being  physicians) 
“  “  Physicians  not  ordained  .... 

“  “  other  Male  Assistants . 

“  “  Female  Assistants . 

Whole  number  of  laborers  sent  from  this  country 

Number  of  Native  Pastors . 

“  “  Native  Preachers  and  Catechists 

“  “  School  Teachers . 

“  “  other  Native  Helpers . 


